Civil partner wins tax refund ruling
French court orders tax authorities to pay back inheritance tax paid by a British man after his civil partner died
A FRENCH court has ordered the tax authorities to pay back inheritance tax paid by a British man after his civil partner died.
Jerry Lea has so far paid instalments of £31,800 on a £98,000 bill after inheriting the Loir-et-Cher holiday home that he shared with partner Geoff Page.
Mr Page died in 2008, when France did not recognise British civil partnerships and bereaved partners were expected to pay the 60% inheritance tax due by those with no relationship to the deceased.
However in May 2009 a legal change was brought in by parliament, backdated to August 21, 2007, recognising foreign equivalents to the pacs.
Mr Lea will get back his money and a part of his legal costs after the ruling by the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Bobigny. This is the first time a court has made a judgement based on the change in the law.
He said: “It is good news and now hopefully I can forget about it and get on with my life in France. I will soon be a full-time resident. I love it here.”
Mr Lea’s barrister Caroline Mécary said: “This is a great decision, but what is unacceptable is that the tax authorities did not act spontaneously based on their own regulations which came out in January and that we have had to wait.
"In theory there should be no need for any more court cases because the authorities should respect the law which makes a civil partnership equal to a pacs in France. If anyone else has paid, they should ask for a reimbursement.”
